Indoor environment experts David P Wyon and Pawel Wargocki answer 30 key questions on indoor air quality and its effect on a person’s mental and physical capacity
temperaturesraised A
HOW DO
AFFECT PERFORMANCE? Q
Effects
What effects do raised temperatures and poor air quality
s experienced researchers in the effects of thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) on performance, we are often asked
to give our best estimate of how, and to what extent, performance is affected by different
aspects of indoor climate. Here we answer 30 frequently asked questions on the topic. Our answers are based on the results of behavioural experiments conducted to date.
perfor mance? There are four main reasons:
Q
Why should we be interested in ther mal and air quality effects on
• It is the added value of occupant per formance
that pays for indoor environ mental quality1
• Performance is affected in the short-
term by the combined effects of all in door environmental factors, while sub jective and physiological responses are usually selected because they are a func tion of one
air • It turns out that thermal and can be observed even when there are no
specifi c factor quality effects on performance fi • The primary purpose of factory, of-
ob servable effects on comfort or on health- related symptom intensity 2,3,4
ce and school buildings is to provide an optimal indoor environment for work and for learning to work
36 CIBSE Journal May 2013
have on perfor mance? We have found that they usually re duce the rate of working, with little or no effect on accuracy.3,4
Q Q
Most mental work involves concen tration and is likely to be similarly af fected.
Q Q
Raised temperatures have been found to increase end-tidal CO2
Q Q (ETCO2
What are the exceptions? Excessive concentration can impair
recognition memory and creative think ing, so as moderate warmth leads to lowered arousal, it can paradoxically improve the performance of work that includes such tasks.
Mechanisms
How do raised temperatures affect performance?
). This is an
indicator of mild ‘acidosis’, which is an increase in the concentration of CO2
decreases oxygen satura tion in blood (SpO2
in the blood) and ),
both of which are likely to be detrimental for mental work.6
How does poor air quality affect per formance?
Poor air quality may lead to mild acidosis, exactly as raised temperature does, because
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Why is that? In our experience, people tend to re duce
their rate of work until they are again able to achieve an acceptable error rate.
What aspects of mental work are af fected?
In general, tasks that require concen tration (clear thinking and symbolic manipulation), memory and original thought.3,5,6
Are all kinds of performance affected to the same extent?
quality poor air WHAT EFFECT DOES
HAVE ON OCCUPANT PERFORMANCE?
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